The View From My Beer
Enjoying my first pint of VB on tap for quite a while at the historic Adelaide River hotel.
Katherine
The first stop on my seven-day trek through the NT Outback was Katherine. Katherine is called the “Crossroads of the North” because it’s a junction for the Stuart and Victoria Highways, making it a key point for travel between Darwin and Western Australia or Alice Springs/South Australia. It is the point where the Outback and the tropics meet, with a climate that includes both the monsoonal rains of the Top End and the dry conditions of the Red Centre. Katherine is a significant meeting place for Indigenous peoples and has a rich cultural history.
The town began as an outpost of the Overland Telegraph Line in 1872. It was officially named by explorer John McDouall Stuart in 1862 after the Katherine River. The current site was gazetted in 1926, moving from Knott’s Crossing to be on the more flood-resistant side of the river after a railway bridge was completed.
My Drive
I arrived in Darwin at 2am. Despite the late hour, I found myself selected for a random search in customs requiring a customs agent to search through every item in my suitcase. It wouldn’t have been a problem, except that by the time I cleared customs the car rental counter had closed and I had to figure out another way of getting to my hotel. Fortunately, I had picked an airport hotel that offered a shuttle bus. Despite the late night, I got up early and took a shuttle bus back to the airport to pick up my car. I had a 300km drive ahead and was keen to get started.
When I visited Darwin earlier in the year on a cruise stop-over, I was a tad disappointed to find that Darwin did not have any of those classic outback pubs. I wanted to complete by NT experience by chalking up a few of those on this trip. Today would be defined by the only two towns between Darwin and Katherine big enough to support a classic outback pub – Adelaide River and Pine Creek. Humpty Doo was another option just to the South of Darwin, but I reserved that for my return later in the week. As much as I was going to enjoy the beer (or perhaps because I knew i would enjoy the beer), I wanted to optimize the stops so i would not be in danger of driving above the limit.
Adelaide River
It was a little over 100km drive to my first stop, Adelaide River. I arrived around noon, the perfect time to stop and grab a counter lunch an enjoy my first outback beer for a long time. Adelaide River is famous for its abundance of saltwater crocidles, some of which are known for being to jump high out of the water. Today, I was not here for flying crocodiles, a burnt steak and a cold beer was going to do just nicely. The pub itself was a classic. It did have beer on tap, and the bar was filled with a collection of memorabilia.
Pine Creek
The next stop, Pine Creek, was another 100km further down the bitumen. This pub had more of an outdoor setting giving it a different feel to my first stop. After enjoying another cleansing ale I wandered out the back to ‘The Shed’. This was an awesome display of classic cars, mortorcycles, and a whole bunch of stuff that I remember as a kid. There was a yellow 1977 Holden Torana, and a classic Four N Twenty Pie sign. I even found a collection of classic beer barrels, the same as the ones that were all the range my my high school friends celebrated their 18th birthdays and could drink (legally).
Katherine
I had taken my time and arrived in Katherine around 4PM. The amusement on the drive into Katherine had been a series of trivia signs that asked questions and a few clicks down the road would be the answer. Not having taken a walk all day I headed to Katherine Gorge to see if there was anything worthwhile I could do to finish off the day. It turned out most things on the gorge were closing down when I arrived, so I had to settle for a short walk down to the boat jetty and back.
The hotel was a bit of an experience. If was a self-service hotel. Fortunately I had read my Ae-mails prior to arriving and had received the necessary codes to unlock the gate and retrieve my key from a safety deposit box. It still felt a little wierd not having a normal desk and a person to check in with. After carefully parking my car in a well-lit place I took a walk around town before settling on the nearby KFC for something to eat. There were a lot of aboriginals on the street and a few were creating a bit of a stir. Not enough for me to be too worried, but I was very conscious of my saftey.
I found a pub to enjoy a cold beer and observe life in Katherine before returning to my hotel. I decided not to spend too much time outside tonight until I had a better sense of my surroundings. On the way back to my hotel I found an interesting ‘Wheres Wally’ car. Little did I realize i would encounter the car several times on my trek through the outback.
